Comments on: Why You Should Shop at Ethnic Grocery Stores

By: KatNotCat

KatNotCat — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 16:58:15 +0000

@eraserface It varies by store, but we’ve usually gone between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m and most of the stores that will sell to the public are doing it then. By 4 p.m., anyone that closes to the public has done so it seems.
I still haven’t figured out A. Litteri’s hours.

By: cmeggles

cmeggles — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 17:11:24 +0000

Thanks for this article! I live in Philly and I actually use the ATM at the credit union right by Cousin’s all the time, yet have never shopped there. I’ll check it out next time! I love shopping at Trader Joe’s, but good point about keeping money in the community.

By: Morbo

Morbo — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 16:44:04 +0000

@josefinastrummer
My fault. I mix up Philly and Pittsburgh all the time.
I don’t hold a romanticized view of the mom and pop store. I know a lot of them mistreat workers just as bad as the chain stores do. Maybe Cousin’s is better, but it is something to be aware of.

By: Morbo

Morbo — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 16:41:16 +0000

@deepomega
I give people crap for shopping at Trader Joe’s for a lot of reasons.
I think we agree on the notion of low prices not being an automatic byproduct of evil.
It is just more a reaction against people who talk about the evils of Wal-Mart and Target, but don’t consider the effects of their own shopping habits, once it is their turn to save a dime. My biggest irk is Amazon shoppers, because it often robs communities and states of sales tax revenue.

By: aspirin_kid

aspirin_kid — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 15:23:41 +0000

@josefinastrummer Way closer. Probably halfway between campus and Port Richmond, maybe a third of the way.

By: josefinastrummer

josefinastrummer — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 14:28:08 +0000

@BadUncle Not everyone lives in such a diverse neighborhood. Yeah I live around Italians and Algerians and Indonesians and lots of other people but I also live equal distance from Acme and Shop Rite, two big chains in our area. I think this article is mostly telling people to not be afraid to go somewhere different and/or to not be a snob.

By: josefinastrummer

josefinastrummer — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 14:24:54 +0000

@Morbo Wow, comparing shopping at a locally owned business to Wal-Mart is just wrong. I will shop at a small business before I shop in a corporate owned chain, unionized or not, any day because they are the people keeping the money in the community.

Unions have their place but do you know anything about the unions in Philadelphia? Seeing that you live in Chicago and mentioned Giant Eagle, which we don’t have, maybe not? It used to be that unions helped people and you chose to join but now a lot of them are bullies that demonize anyone who doesn’t want to/can’t afford to join or in the trade unions, isn’t white.

By: LolaLaBalc

LolaLaBalc — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 14:15:35 +0000

@szajic oh my god, that’s so cheap. SO CHEAP. Seriously, $3 for 5lbs of flour?? Whole Foods is now in London too, but in almost every aspect, they live up to the expectation of being insanely expensive.

Now that I live in England, I miss cheap pantry staples and the two big Mexican and Armenian supermarkets in my old LA neighborhood like crazy. I got so used to buying 4 avocados for a dollar, bulk beans and grains, or 3 lbs of tangerines for $2 that I forgot what it was like to pay through the nose for fresh produce at more mainstream chains. I’ve found a few good middle eastern and European markets here (like Aldi, which owns Trader Joe’s) that are reasonably cheaper than the big supermarket chains here. In a lot of ways, the European markets, like Aldi or Lidl have more of a stigma attached than the ‘ethnic’ Asian markets, which is more of a class issue than a race thing.

By: BadUncle

BadUncle — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 06:49:24 +0000

As a Brooklyner, I kind of bristle at the call to shop at “ethnic” grocery stores, which seems like some kind of a fragile species existing outside the normal ecosystem. My portion of South Brooklyn is largely composed of, well, everyone. So that means the three groceries at the end of my block are a Korean natural foods store, an Italian butcher and grocery, and a Mexican fancy food boutique. Which of those three certifies as “most ethnic?” Because there is nothing else to patronize (with an emphasis on “Patron.”) The most famous butchers and groceries in my nabe are run by Italians, Germans, Syrians and Lebanese. Should I patronize these – relatively speaking – big box stores?

By: eraserface

eraserface — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 03:45:45 +0000

@KatNotCat Can you tell us when the good restaurant supply places on FL Ave are open to the public on weekends? I could use some bulk spices…